Vol. XIV. No. 331. 



THK AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 





THE COCO-NUT. Bj Edward Bingham Copeland, 

 Professor of Plant Physiologj and Dean of the College oi 

 Agriculture, University of the Philippines: Macmilland: Co., 



:i .' - XI Vpp. Price 10s. net. 



A g ! deal of the recenl literature of the coco n 



been produced with more enthusiasm than sound knowledge, 

 and tin' prospective planter who has been inspired by the 



exponents of the 'next great I m' would do well, when be 



comes to start operations, to turn ; a boot in which agri 

 cultural practice is considered in the light of scientific 



enquiry, and business considerations in the light of comi 



sense. 



The manual before us has been written in correlation 

 with courses of instruction on the subject, given bj thi 

 author in the University of the Philippines, and has been 

 amplifie I and substantiated by the experiments and observa 

 lions of the students in successive classes. We hasten to 

 add that it is far from being academic, in the derogatory 

 sense of that word, and that while there is a certain amount 

 of local colour in the descriptions, the information given is 

 capable of quite general application. 



The physiology of the different organs of the coco-nut 

 plant is first considered, with a view to bringing out any 

 special adaptations the tree maj possess, and any special 

 conditions it may require. It is shown to be not so indi- 

 vidual in its needs or tolerances when compared with other 

 plants as is sometimes supposed. Several questions of very 

 practical importance, such as the nature of the root system, 

 the influence of shade on transpiration and growth, and the 

 relation between rate of growth and production of fruit are 

 discussed from exact data. 



With regard to suitable soils and situations, the author 

 discredits the common idea that salt is necessary for the full 

 development of the tree. He points out that the sandy 

 beaches where it thrives are, as a matter of fact, quite asfree 

 from salt as ordinary soils, excepl in the event of an inunda- 

 tion from the sea. Like other sea shore plants, the coco-nut 

 is adapted to withstand the effects of such 01 ;urrences, but 

 derive- no positive advantage from them. That the tree 

 is able to thrive in almost pure sand is attributed to the 

 supply of food contained in th< seepage water from the 

 lands behind the beach, which bathes the roots on its way 

 to the sea. The belief current in the West Indies, as else 

 where, that COCO nuts like plenty "I water in the soil so long 

 as it is not stagnant, may 1>.- explained on these line 

 Porous soils situated around the bases of mountains, especi 

 ally of volca) S, afford somewhat similar conditions, and are 



led as highly favourable to this crop. Considerate f 



the possibilities ol h ransport oi f I material- in undei 



ground water -till further discredits s.,il analysis a- an 

 index of fertility. 



A very adequate sumniarj i> given oi our present 

 knowledge on the subject of the diseases and pests of the 

 coco-nut palm, some eight] page- being.taken up with their 

 consideration. The author's remark thai *knowledge of the 



of pests i.i'l ol the mischief they do, 01 



methods of coml I not o! great 



is ipplied,' i- i it is ,,i,\ ious. 



In the chapter , ,1, selection and treatment ol si I, 

 pointed out thai while the existence of a large numl i 

 varieties, races, and strains, and the occurrence of consider- 

 able variation give very wide -cope for selection, too lil 

 known of the comp h il lie differ ml I | 



enable very much advantage to be taken at present ol 

 existence. The fallacy of the common practice of nut 

 selection, as distinguished from tree selei tioi emp] I 



The directions for nursery work, and thi chapter on 



held culture contain fully reasoned advio these -i 



in all their details. The final chapter ap] 



adequately with the n hire and preparatio ico-nut 



products. A full index is appended. 



The book can lie warml i nded to plan 



agricultural officers. To the latter, it will suggest I 



lines which further investigation may follow. 



Coco-nut Meal and Gluten Feed. -The coco-nut 



meal used in animal f ling consists of the dried and a I 



flesh of the coco-nut from which the oil ha- ' 



Tic particular sample used ill this experiment had the 

 following composition (percent.): Water 9-00, protein 19-35, 

 carbohydrates 18-00, fat 9 - 12, fibre 8-64, and ash 5-89, so 



that it contained rather less protein and 111, re. and 



carbohydrates than the average of German samples. The 



food chosen for comparison was gluten feed, and this C01 



ed less ash and fat, rather more protein, and decidedlj 



carbohydrates than the , o-nuf meal. 



Digestibility experiments with sheep showed the foil 

 ing amounts in lh., to >»• digestible out of 2,000 lb: — 



Coc 



Protein 



( Jarbohydrates 



l-'at 



Fibre 



Ash 



Total indigestible matter 



If the fat is converted into it- starch equivalent the 

 coco-nut meal would seem to furnish 1,705 th.. ami tic , 



teed 1,634 th. of digestible matte, p er 2,000 lb. fed. 



Ten cows were selected, and the comparative val ■■ i 

 the two foods for milk production was ascertained. The 

 basal ration consisted of hay and bran, five cows being fed 



ou coco-nut meal and live on glutei, i I, these two 



afterwards being chanced over; both t Is were fed 



rate of 3-68 ft. per head per day. Substantially the 



amounts of milk were obtained fr the coco-nut meal 



from the gluten feed, bill slightlj more butter fa 

 secured from the former. 



It is believed that c mil meal is fully equal to gluten 



f I iu nutritive value, although it i- doubtful if it i 



it. German observers consider ii particularly desin >l 



dairy animals, in amounts of from ." to -I lb. per head daily 



and it has lieen show,, to increase si -whal th" \,c i mtenl 



of the milk. IV, , , iss of f lh. it is held to ] 

 hard a butter. (The Journal of the Board f Aon 

 November 1914.) 



